The Packers went into last April’s draft wanting to help the defense and the offensive line and I think they did that.  With the #9 overall pick in the NFL Draft (first round) the Packers took DT/DE B.J. Raji out of Boston College.  He played in 14 games for the Packers last season and he made 25 tackles, 4 tackles for a loss and he defensed 1 pass and had a sack.  The Packers will expect more out of him next season and down the road.  The best player the Packers took last April was their other first round pick (#26 overall) OLB Clay Matthews out of USC.  He played in all 16 games for the Packers as a rookie and he made 51 tackles, 7 tackles for a loss, he had 10 sacks, 1 forced fumble and he defensed 7 passes.  The sky is the limit for Matthews as he looks unstoppable at times.  In the fourth round the Packers picked OT T.J. Lang (#109 overall) out of Eastern Michigan.  Lang played in all 16 games (3 starts) for the Packers last season and he has nice size at 6′4″, 316 pounds so he has a nice upside.  Fullback Quinn Johnson came to the Packers in the 5th round (#145 overall) out of LSU.  He didn’t run the ball but he caught 2 passes for 4 yards in 9 games.  OT Jamon Meredith was selected in the 5th round (#162 overall) out of South Carolina.  He played in 8 games (4 starts) for the Packers last season and he looks like a keeper just like Lang.  DE Jarius Wynn was picked in the sixth round (#182 overall) out of Georgia.  He played in 11 games and made a whopping 4 tackles for the Packers last season.  CB Brandon Underwood was also picked in the 6th round (#187 overall) out of Cincinnati.  He played in 11 games and he made 11 tackles including three of them for a loss.  The Packers really got themselves a steal with linebacker Brad Jones who they picked in the 7th round (#218 overall) out of Colorado.  He played in 14 games for the Packers last season and he made 33 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, he defensed 1 pass and had 4 sacks. 

GRADE FOR 2009:  B

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  A-

The Packers traded up back into the first round to select outside linebacker Clay Matthews.  Matthews has nice size at 6′3″, 246 pounds and he’s definately fast enough (4.7 40) to handle the outside.  Matthews also has great bloodlines as both his dad (Clay) and uncle (Bruce) were both outstanding NFL players.  He still had to work for everything he got as he was a walk on as a freshman with the USC Trojans.  Matthews played in 48 games (12 starts) in his career and he has made 96 tackles, 13.5 tackles for a loss, has 5.5 sacks and he broke up 4 passes.  He is just scratching the surface of his potential as his best football is ahead of him.

The Packers got exactly what they wanted with their top pick as they didn’t think Raji would be there for them.  Raji is the most powerful defensive lineman in this draft at 6′1″, 334 pounds.  He is a beast against the run and he can get to the QB up the middle at times.  Raji played 4 years for Boston College appearing in 49 games (38 starts) in which he made 105 tackles, 32.5 tackles for a loss, had 14 sacks, batted down 9 balls and he forced 1 fumble.  Raji will be a starter from Day #1 for the Packers and he should free up the inside linebackers by taking on double teams.  The run defense should definately improve with Raji on board.

The only real contributor the Packers had in their rookie class was 2nd round pick (WR) Jordy Nelson.  Nelson played in 16 games (2 starts) for the Packers last season and he caught 33 passes for 366 yards (11.1 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  He also returned 11 kickoffs for 208 yards (18.9 avg) last season.  Look for Nelson to eventually replace Donald Driver in the starting lineup for the Packers.  QB Brian Brohm was selected in the 2nd round also by the Packers but he disappointed them big time.  In fact, Brohm was beaten out by 7th rounder Matt Flynn for the backup job to Aaron Rodgers.  Flynn played in 7 games (0 starts) last season for the Packers and he completed 2 of 5 passes (40%) for 6 yards with 0 TDs and 0 INTs (47.9 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 4 times for 4 yards (1.0 ypc) last season.  The final 2nd rounder for the Packers was CB Patrick Lee.  Lee played in 5 games (0 starts) for the Packers last season and he made a whopping 2 tackles and defensed 1 pass.  TE Jermichael Finley (3rd round) appears to have some upside.  He played in 14 games (1 start) for the Packers last season and he caught 6 passes for 74 yards (12.3 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He also finished his rookie season with 4 tackles.  4th rounder (DE) Jeremy Thompson played in 9 games (3 starts) last season for the Packers and he made 8 tackles.  Offensive guard Josh Sitton (4th round) played in 11 games (2 starts) as a rookie last season and he could develop into a starter in the near future for the Packers.  OT Breno Giacomini (5th rounder) only played in 1 game (0 starts) as a rookie last season.  He will be lucky to make the Packers’ roster in 2009.  WR Brett Swain was the final pick (7th rounder) for the Packers last season and he never made it to the field.

GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  D

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  D

Brett Swain might not be the biggest receiver (6′0″, 200 pounds) and he’s not exactly a speedster but he just seems to get the job done.  At San Diego State, Swain played in 44 games (25 starts) and he caught 135 passes for 1,893 yards (14.0 avg) with 8 TD grabs.  He will likely have to make the Packers on special teams as a lot of WRs are ahead of him on the depth chart.